Alleviating One Another
by BloodDarkerThanCrimson
Summary: This is a story of broken minds and broken hearts. Of a demigod who lost everything he had, but still fought. Of a god who had his whole life a lie, but still yearned to live. And of a brilliant inventor who afflicted by nightmares, but still donned his mask.
1. 1: The Unnoticed Stares, Hidden Gazes

**Here I go again with another story. Marvel's my new fandom just months ago, after reading fanfictions about Tony Stark and Loki. My OTP! Frostiron. And soooo, I decided to make my own. With my favorite fandom. Anndddd… I hope y'all like it! I'm so excited for Age of Ultron on May!**

**Happy Birthday to ME!**

**UPDATED: 03/24/2015: Song and Chapter Title. Nothing much.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Avengers.**

* * *

_"We think we've climbed so high_  
_Up all the backs we've condemned_  
_We face no consequence_  
_This is the beginning of the end."_

Beginning of the End, _Nine Inch Nails_

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Unnoticed Stares, Hidden Gazes**

It started last week.

With the Giant War finished, monsters were temporarily silenced these days. It was safer (as safe as a demigod's life can be) to say and to stroll along the streets, at least. So this day, Percy had chosen walking over taking a cab to their apartment, hoping for some peaceful walk.

As he walked now, he could feel the stares, accusing him of something he didn't even know he was doing. Could sense the tension in the air, thick as a wall, making his shoulders hunch protectively closer. Could feel paranoia clouding his mind, closing him in, making him feel faintly claustrophobic. He thought he saw a shadow flicker in the dark alley on his left. He fidgeted with the bag strap on his shoulder, concentrating on _just walking_. Easier said than done.

The tension in the air broke when a woman's scream shattered the near-silence. Without even considering what he was about to do, he broke into a full sprint, running towards the direction of the scream, shoes thudding into the pavement as he ran. _Four or five blocks ahead_, his mind supplied helpfully.

He arrived at the scene, breathe even as he skidded to a halt. _Just a typical New York crime,_ he thought wryly. Two robbers, face hidden beneath a crude mask of black cloth with holes for the eyes. One man had the victim in a headlock grip, while the other shorter man held a knife to the woman's chin.

"We'll do it nicely, sweetie," the man holding the knife said in a sickly sweet voice. "No arguments, no hassle. Give us the bag, or you'll only harm yourself."

The designer bag, which been held tightly in the woman's hands, was held even closer to her body. Defiance burned fiercely in her eyes. "No." Her voice was steely calm. "I won't." Then she smiled coldly. "At this point, I'm sure someone must have heard me, right?"

The woman's luck must be rotten if Percy wasn't there, because even no one in that street heard him, save for the demigod. He chose that moment to interfere.

"She's right," said Percy leaning against the wall. Three heads snapped to meet his gaze, and she ignored the disappointed and panicked look the woman sent his way. "Now, how 'bout this. You drop the knife, or I swear you'll harm yourselves instead."

The men laughed nastily, throwing their heads back. Percy tried to suppress an eye roll. Clearly, they haven't met him. He met the woman's eyes briefly, and her eyes said, _Run, you silly boy._

He sent a message of his own, eyes flashing: _But I'm not a boy anymore. I can handle this just fine. _He sent her a reassuring smile to calm her.

The man holding her tightened her grip, making her gasp in surprise.

The back of Percy's neck prickled, and he whipped his head around, expecting to see someone watching them. However, the alley was dark, and there was no one in sight but the four of them.

The woman gasped again, but this time it was more from pain, bringing back the demigod's attention. He nearly missed it, but in the limited moonlight and artificial light, it glinted: a thin line of blood, fresh and bright against the woman's neck.

He felt something come alive inside him because _no, no one will be harmed in his watch_— and he drew out Riptide from his pocket. He uncapped it and just for a moment, he saw his sword flicker into a baseball bat.

The men stopped short for a moment, hesitating, probably wondering _where did that freaking bat came from_ and Percy took the distraction as an advantage. He charged, elbowing the man holding the woman to the ribs, making him wheeze in pain and release her. He clubbed him in the head with the pommel of his sword. One down.

The man holding the knife tried to stab him in the gut, but he sidestepped the blow easily and sent the knife flying to the wall with an expert flick of his sword, where it bounced and clattered to the ground, well enough out of reach from the man.

The man was easily taller and bulkier than him, and chose that moment to underestimate him. Either the man was ignorantly stupid or he had a really big ego, so confident of himself that he will be able to take down a demigod. Not that he knew, of course.

He threw a punch, clearly aiming for his head, and Percy dodged it. He can't stop it, he started to chatter. He didn't feel like attacking the criminal yet, he wasn't in the mood right now.

"'Cause seriously? I'm sick of these crimes. It's never-ending. You guys are always there—" he dodged another punch, "—and you can't even try something different." The man snarled and attempted to trip him, but his foot only found air. "Why don't you try something new?" He paused to appreciate the not-so-sloppy attacks from the man.

"Just get on with it now," the woman muttered impatiently from somewhere behind him.

"Oh, right." He turned to grin sheepishly at the woman, with a hint of something close to mania. He'd almost enjoyed the fight over there. "If you say so, my lady."

He whirled back to the expectant man, who looked offended at being dismissed so easily. He feinted to the right, and while the man focused on raising his defenses on his left side, he bashed the man's right side of the head with the flat of his blade.

He winced at the sickening sound as the man fell to join his associate in the ground. Percy turned back to the woman again, only to find her watching him with wide eyes. A thin trickle of blood was on her neck, the wound seemingly forgotten.

He hurried to her side, eyes fixed on her wound. She followed the line of his gaze and her eyes widened impossibly further, as if she only saw it for the first time. She opened her bag, and soon came up with a handkerchief, and pressed it to the wound.

He hesitated at her side, unable to think of what to do. So he came up with only an "Are you okay, um... miss...?"

"Potts. Pepper Potts."The woman smile reassuringly at him, and Percy felt his shoulders sag with relief. Then a frown appeared on Pepper's face, with a touch of curiosity. "How did you do that by the way?"

He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Just learned it… here and there." He deliberately changed the subject. "Do you uh, want a lift? Just to make sure you weren't robbed again."

"Oh no," she said, shaking her head but still smiling. "No thanks. I'll just call Happy. My boss had a driver but I stubbornly refused the ride and chose to walk home alone. Just to stretch my legs a bit, you know."

Happy, Pepper... did someone else have any more crazy name? "Oh." Percy nodded, and smiled more easily now. "So Miss Potts, see you 'round a bit then." His smile turned into a grin. "And don't let your guard down, with the other robbers around."

The demigod started to walk away, but stopped when Pepper (huh, cool name) called him.

"Wait!

He turned around, eyebrows raised. The woman blushed a bit, but continued on with her question in mind. "You haven't told me your name, mister."

He grinned, more teeth than a real smile. He knew names were a dangerous thing, but he felt like he owed this bit to Pepper. He bowed, waist deep and said, "Percy Jackson, at your service."

Then he was gone.

* * *

Somewhere in the darkness, a voice whispered in his comms, lips barely moving, "Subject identified. Name confirmed: Percy Jackson."

* * *

In the dark alleyway where the two men were still knocked unconscious and showed no signs of waking, a sleek black Ferrari skidded into a stop in front of Pepper Potts. The door opened, and Happy climbed out of the car, assisting her into the back seat.

"You shouldn't have done that," Happy admonished her. "There's a first aid kit just below your seat." He started the engine, and they strolled away smoothly, while Pepper searched for the said kit.

"I'm fine," she said, even as her hand sifted through the contents of the kit. "Just a scratch."

"Boss got drunk again," he started, just as Pepper finished cleaning the wound. "After five days of little sleep, JARVIS insisted he got some, and was rewarded by another nightmare instead."

"He's gotten worse, you know," Pepper said quietly, mostly to herself. Even as the engineer's actions had gotten obvious for them to notice. "Worse than Afghanistan. He locks himself in his workshop for days, running on lots of coffee. Eats when he's only forced to. And when he sleeps, well…" Pepper shrugged miserably. "He's barely even sleeping."

"You know, Pepper," Happy said suddenly, struck by an idea, "maybe he needs someone. And he's Tony Stark. You know he could take care of himself."

"Look at his job well done," muttered Pepper under her breath, but perked up as the idea fully sunk in. "He needs someone…"

Thinking furiously, she considered the options. Not her, he's used to her presence, and she's the CEO of the company. Colonel Rhodey was also unavailable; he's got duties and responsibilities…

"I know!" shouted Pepper triumphantly. "Bruce!"

* * *

Percy sighed as he shouldered his backpack once more, holding it securely close to him. So much for a peaceful walk.

Pepper Potts… he felt like he'd seen her name before. He frowned. With an almost a year gone, he wasn't able to catch up with the current events and happenings in his city New York. Participating in a war certainly didn't help matters.

Pepper Potts, Potts. Potts… boss… Pepper…

He stopped dead in his tracks. Pepper Potts, and her boss, Tony Stark. Iron Man. Right. One of the so-called "Avengers," who helped with the alien invasion that happened a year ago. Before he got by Her Holy Cow Majesticness, the queen of the gods.

Demigods had been strictly ordered to _do not interfere _with an enraged Zeus that came _personally _in the camp when he found out that a single child of Apollo tried to join the fight. He was barely spared by Chiron, who tried to reason with the king of gods that _yes, it has been his entire fault, his foolishness, he should have tried to stop him, it will never happen again. _Poor kid hid in the Apollo cabin in days, humiliated, and no one had dared to join the fight again, unless they want to face Zeus's wrath and to be incinerated by the Master Bolt.

And then there were whispers of Loki, a Norse god of mischief, a crazy murdering psychopath that led the invasion. There also had been an Avenger, also a Norse god, Thor, the thunder god.

Percy was not sure what to make of this alien invasion, so let it go. Now, it may as well come to back to haunt him again, with just a simple deed of saving Pepper Potts. Fate has a funny way of bringing a destiny to him.

He felt another prickle at the back of his neck, and turned just in time to see a shadow dart away from the edge of the roof of the building behind him.

Dread pooled his stomach. Had they been following him around all along? And… oh, Styx, had they heard him say his name out loud? He started walking again, quickening his pace, and tried to shake away the feeling of apprehension, and thought that he should have learned some time ago with Rachel that it wasn't a good idea to just introduce yourself to someone. He's sure he wasn't entirely successful.

* * *

"Tony." Pepper shook him, hard. The billionaire only shifted and managed a muffled, "mmph," before dropping bonelessly on the chair, sound asleep. Bottles she only knew too well surrounded him on the table, JARVIS' holograms still hovering on the air. She swept the empty space, shutting down screens and saving data.

"JARVIS?"

"_Yes, Miss Potts?" _Tony's AI, JARVIS, asked. "_How may I be of assistance?"_

"Connect me to Bruce Banner."

"_Affirmative. Connecting to Doctor Banner now…"_

She raised her voice. "Dummy?"

The robot made itself known, mechanics whirring and arm making movements towards its creator.

Pepper smiled. "Go, now, get him a pillow and a blanket." Dummy seemed to know his creator's wishes, and became very fond and close to Pepper whenever she visited the tower.

She eased Tony into a more comfortable position, nose wrinkling from the smell of alcohol wafting from the man. Dummy returned, in its arm clutching a pillow and blanket as it smoothly rolled by. Its mechanism whirred and whined as it showed concern for its creator.

"He will be fine." Pepper wasn't sure if she was going mad, reassuring the robot while he will certainly not be fine. "Everything will be fine."

"_Miss Potts? The call has been successfully connected."_

Oh, right. She had almost forgotten the call. "Doctor Banner?"

There was a pause on the other line, and then the sounds of sheets rustling can be heard. "Yes, Miss Potts?"

"It's about Tony. Had he ever invited you to join him in the tower?

Bruce chuckled. "Yes, actually. He even said that I can have my own lab that I could use and an entire floor too. I… may have said that I will think about it."

"Please," begged Pepper. "Could you reconsider the offer? I had my duties as the CEO of Stark Industries. I can't look after him, he's having nightmares and he's not been eating again." She sighed. She knew she was babbling insanely now, all of her worries being poured into words, because this has to stop. "Just… think about it. Please, Doctor Banner."

There was a pregnant pause, silence as Bruce contemplated her words.

"Okay," the scientist said finally, and Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll tell Tony tomorrow."

"Oh, god, thank you, Doctor Banner!"

"Call me Bruce, Miss Potts." She could hear the smile in his voice, and felt her own lips curl into a beam.

"Then you may call me Pepper."

* * *

**How's that for the first chapter? ****And tell me what you thought of the story! If it's too fast for you, well, the story have its own mind soooo, we couldn't do anything about it. *grins* **

_**~BloodDarkerThanCrimson out.**_


	2. 2: Hindered Moments and Organized Places

**Oh my gods! Thank you for the **_**amazing **_**responses I've received, from all the readers, and especially the reviewers! I've replied to each and every one of them, and you could go see yours at the end notes. This work has achieved more than the rest of my stories in a short period of time, so, if anyone's interested, you could go see the others. (SHAMELESS PLUGGING) Thor: The Dark World and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. never happened, 'cause this is my world.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Avengers.**

* * *

_Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die._  
-Herbert Hoover

**Chapter 2: Hindered Moments and Organized Places**

* * *

Director Nick Fury of SHIELD felt a headache blossom in his head.

"What do you mean, the guy disappeared for almost _ten _months?

Agent Maria Hill nodded. "Percy Jackson was off the grid for almost ten months. SHIELD tracked his call to their apartment on his eighth month, one that originated from Alaska. The call was meant for his mother, Sally Blofis née Jackson. And there were also records of his misbehavior on different schools."

"Great," muttered Fury. "We've got another wayward kid."

"Jackson's father is 'lost at the sea,' as his mother put it," Hill continued. "He had a stepfather named Gabe Ugliano, who, after the whole Percy Jackson being an international criminal but not, disappeared and did not leave any trace at all. Percy Jackson got another stepfather four years after, Paul Blofis, who married Sally Jackson a month ago." Then Hill smiled wryly. "Percy Jackson seems still in his senior year in high school."

Fury sighed. "Dig deeper. Find all the files you can get your hands on this mysterious Percy Jackson.

Tony Stark woke up to the urgent-not-urgent voice of JARVIS.

"_Sir, it seems that Doctor Banner have been trying to reach you this past three minutes. I suggest that you answer the phone call."_

Tony groaned, letting his head fall back to the pillow (_where did that come from?_), smelling the last night's scotch all around him, but the bottles (yeah, plural) were gone now, leaving his working table empty and clean.

He yawned sleepily and blinked, feeling a steady drum beat inside his head, pounding, and trying to will himself to _wake up already _but he really, _really_ need coffee right now.

"JARVIS," he muttered, "tell Brucie to wait. Oh, no, answer the goddamn call and I'll tell him myself."

He pushed himself up and stretched, hearing his bones crack from the night's abuse falling asleep on the chair. He's not as young as he used to be. He got up and walked into the kitchen, feeling more awake but not quite enough, and reached for his beloved coffee maker.

"Tony?" asked Bruce tentatively from the other line. There was a creak and a thud as Bruce does who-know-what.

"Mmm?" Tony said, feeling the coffee flow in his veins and power up his system, like a computer being plugged at an electrical socket. "What's up? You don't usually phone for a social call—and when you do, it's not for a social call."

"Well, I've decided something today," Bruce said, a resounding thud and a resolved click in the background.

Tony squinted, sipping his coffee. "Wait, wait, hold on a moment. What are you doing? 'Cause I got a feeling that you're doing what you aren't supposed to do." A pause. "Right?"

There's a hush of static as Bruce sighed exasperatedly. "Yes. I'm packing."

Tony felt giddy. "Ohh, you're packing. Which leaves two options: You're leaving 'safe haven,' as you put it, and will go further and save some town and heal some people. But you're calling me, so that leaves the second option." He felt a grin spread over his face. "You're moving into the tower!"

The genius could practically see the roll of his eyes as the scientist huffed. "I've considered the offer last night, and, well… I've got to admit, I'd love to have to stay at the tower. And the lab," he added excitedly.

Tony laughed the most sincere one he had for the first time in months. "Sure, and we could be Science bros. Thanks, really."

Bruce laughed. "No, I'm the one who should be thanking you. Bye." There was a beep as the call disconnected.

"Oh, and JARVIS?"

"_Yes, sir?_"

"Book a flight for Brucie here. Then send Happy for him when he lands on the airport. Oh, no, I'll personally see him and welcome him."

"_I've already booked a flight for Doctor Banner exactly two minutes ago, sir. I only had to call Master Hogan for the car."_

Tony rubbed his hands together, feeling gleeful. "Get ready for your new lab, Bruce."

* * *

Percy sighed as he plopped down on their living room's couch, feeling the weariness seep from his body. The apartment was empty except for him, and he could hear from the near silence the traffic of the New York streets below them. It was Friday, and Anna—_she_ should be visiting him now.

He shook his head, and tried to clear his thoughts of _her_.

It had taken hours, hell, _days _to comfort his mother that _yes, he will be fine without them_ as they discussed what to do with Paul and Sally's honeymoon after their wedding.

"Percy, honey, are you sure?" Sally had asked worriedly.

"'Course, mom," he had said, cupping her face between his hands. He'd grown tall, taller than his mother over the last months. "I'm seventeen now." He'd smiled at her reassuringly. "'Sides, you can count on Annabeth and Grover checking on me every so often." His eyes glinted mischievously.

Her mom caught it, and she laughed, with just a tinge of sadness in it. She hugged him, hard, almost crushing his ribs. "I'll miss you, Percy," she murmured against her shoulder. "Just don't do anything stupid in our apartment. Or anywhere else, okay?"

"And my car," Paul called.

He laughed, feeling his eyes sting. "Yeah," muttered Percy back. "I'll miss you, mom. And your pancakes and cookies too."

They flew to Maldives for their honeymoon, and they'll possibly stay there for a few weeks, leaving Percy alone in their apartment. Percy, on the other hand, decided to go finish his stupid senior year. But, he thought now, it was better than his recent years at schools.

He sighed as he opened the television, surfing over the channels to watch Doctor Who. He missed plenty episodes, sure, but he still loved to watch it.

Donna's got attitude, he recalled, but he decided to still like Rose than any other companions the Doctor had.

He wondered where he could get a TARDIS and fly her to Maldives, and to surprise his mother and Paul that he'd landed to the supposedly peaceful place earlier than the plane. But the ride would be bumpier, he thought as he laughed, and there's a chance that he will land at the wrong place or at the wrong time.

Or maybe he could go back in time, and fix everything right.

He shook the thoughts away and stood up to make his dinner. If making dinner means ordering pizza.

He did, calling from the cheapest pizza parlor he knew, and ordered some Coke while at it. While he waited, he went back to watch the Doctor, Amy and Rory planned something while River's inside the exploding TARDIS.

His pizza arrived, and he relaxed back into the couch, not bothering to eat in the kitchen, eyes still glued to the TV. He was seeping his Coke when someone knocked on the door. Three sharp knocks that meant business. And probable chaos.

Percy tensed, putting down the drink alongside the pizza box, and closed his mouth that was half-way to biting the pizza slice he'd been holding. He headed for the door to answer it, trying to quell the feeling of foreboding. Maybe it was just the delivery guy who forgot something.

The demigod opened the door to found a man in an expensive business suit, with brown hair and blue eyes. The man held himself professionally, with a smooth, blank face, and a ramrod straight back but with an air of calmness Percy certainly didn't feel.

Percy fiddled with the pen in his pocket while he tried to smile disarmingly at the man. "Yes, sir? I'm afraid my parents aren't here right now."

The man smiled, but not unkindly. "I'm Agent Coulson of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D., if you will, Mr. Jackson, and I don't need your parents."

Percy felt his mental barriers rise with the implication. "If you're trouble, please go away. I had enough of this to last for a lifetime or two."

The man took a deep breath and smiled that infuriating smile of his. "I'm afraid that I could not, Mr. Perseus Jackson. You are sorely needed in this time." The agent looked grim, smile gone now, looking serious.

"Okay." Percy mentally told himself to calm down, because things were definitely _not_ okay. "Okay, uh… why don't you step in and make yourself at home?" He spread his arms wide, trying to diffuse the tension in the room. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Agent Coulson stepped in the living room and raised an eyebrow at the mess at the coffee table, the pizza box open with a slice half-eaten, and at the half-empty glass of Coke.

"Hey," protested Percy. "The guy's eating dinner!"

Amusement fluttered across the agent's features, the first positive expression he saw this night. Then it was gone as someone knocked on the door again. Gently.

The demigod glanced at the agent, who looked as baffled as he was. So, not one of them, then. "I'll answer."

Agent Coulson nodded, and followed him to the front door. When he hesitated too long, there was a knock again, sharper this time.

"Coming," he muttered irritably. Then his jaw dropped open when he saw who were the persons standing outside. Not exactly persons. More like divine beings. Or gods, if you like to be blunt. _Gods._

He threw a sharp glance behind him at the agent and faked a grin. "D-Dad!" He cleared his throat. "And Uncle Z! So nice of you to come to my house. Watcha doin'?"

By the way Zeus glared at him darkly, he rather guessed he took a step too far. But he allowed it nonetheless, by way of protecting his true identity to the mortal. He was wearing a clean, crisp suit, his majestic (Percy thought otherwise) beard neatly trimmed, and his golden blonde hair swept back.

Poseidon, however, smiled at him, though the demigod thought it looked rather tired and weary. He was wearing a bright orange Hawaiian floral shirt, paired with khaki Bermuda shorts and Birkenstocks sandals. The cap, which he always wears, was now gone. He might look like he's chilling out on the seaside, but his grim expression said otherwise. He was a stark contrast to his brother, who looked ready to attend a meeting with America's highest ranking leaders.

"Umm… Agent Coulson, this is my father Poseidon and my Uncle Zeus. Dad, Uncle, this is Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Poseidon's eyes twinkled mischievously. "It is our mother's joke to name us after the Greek gods. Now, I think that you have something that concerns my son?"

Agent Coulson nodded, looking dumbstruck, but he tried not to let it show.

"Now, if you please, Percy," thundered Zeus, voice filling the room easily. "I need to talk with Agent Coulson, he nodded to the agent, "while you, my brother, will talk to your son. Privately," he added.

"The kitchen will do," said Percy to his father. He snagged the half-eaten pizza and the Coke on the way, Poseidon following close behind.

"So," sighed the demigod, "let me guess: they need me."

Poseidon nodded. "Unfortunately so. You've been, ah, discussed about, and they want you with them with the upcoming war."

Percy glared. "No. Not again. I will not be used like that again."

"Percy, my son, please," said Poseidon, turning his eyes on him. "You have to. And no doubt that some of them will be able to help with what happened last week. They are not exactly a perfect team, too."

Now Percy know where he got the puppy eyes everyone had been talking about. Those puppy eyes will make anyone agree to what Percy wants—even _she _couldn't always resist them.

And there's no mistaking of _what happened last week _means. It's an unspoken agreement that anyone should never _never _spoke of them. In front of Percy.

The demigod balled his fists and looked away. "Fine. As long as anyone isn't involved." _As long as anyone wouldn't get hurt. _"Not on my watch."

"We promised," Poseidon said, looking like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, "you are the only one involved. And the Avengers, obviously."

Percy furrowed his brow. "Wait, _what_? The _Avengers_?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"Obviously, you didn't."

Poseidon smiled. "In a few minutes, Agent Coulson will ask you to join the Avengers." The god frowned. "And as much as brother dislikes the idea of mortals discovering demigods and gods, the Avengers will fall apart, unless a demigod, a hero of Olympus will join them."

The god's eyes grew distant, as if he was reciting an old dictum from a memory. "The Hero of Olympus, its savior, who trudged through the pit of hell, who endured two wars, will endure another, for the sake of his city, for the sake of the world, and for the sake of the universe."

Percy sat back in his chair, completely stunned. He clutched the glass of Coke as if his life depended on it. Save the city? That he can do. Save the world? Been there, done that. But the universe? Oh, for Hades' sake, he didn't even know the half of the universe.

"Arrggghhh…" he groaned unintelligibly, holding his head in his hands. "Me again. Why me again?" he moaned to no one in particular. "There's… plenty of demigods there, and I just want my normal life back. Well," he amended, "as normal as my life can be."

Poseidon nodded sympathetically, though he gave no answer to any of his questions. Not that the demigod was probably expecting that. The god stood and clapped him on the shoulder. "A bit of advice: best not to tell the Avengers about Agent Coulson. And just remember that you are not alone," he said, smiling, and vanished into mist, leaving nothing but the faintest scent of the ocean breeze.

But he is alone.

* * *

Composing himself, he walked back to find Zeus and Agent Coulson staring at him expectantly. After his father had left him to his thoughts, he considered it for a long time thinking it through, weighing the pros and cons. Just one question nagged at his mind: What about mom and Paul?

The agent was staring at him and Zeus with wide eyes, unable to speak. So the god must have told him.

Zeus glared at him, and said, "Where's my brother?

Percy shrugged. "He left after giving me some choices that I would most likely make now." He turned to Agent Coulson. "Right?"

The agent composed himself and straightened his back, nodding. He looked professional once again, no longer staring at him like had just fallen from the heaven. "Your father," he noted. "I didn't see him go out at all."

Percy grinned. "You probably know how."

Agent Coulson smiled. "So, Mr. Jackson. What is your choice: do you join the Avengers, or not?"

The demigod took a pizza slice, and chewed on it earnestly. He shrugged helplessly, grinning, all teeth and feral. "I don't have a choice, do I? 'Course I'll join. One question," he narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, "what about mom and Paul?"

Agent Coulson nodded, understanding flickering across his eyes. "You can visit your parents every time you want."

Percy sighed. "Fine by me, I guess. Just… let me pack my things."

"Someone will fetch you tomorrow," said Coulson, standing up and heading for the door.. "See you in a bit, Mr. Jackson. Thank you for your cooperation, my Lord," he said to Zeus, bowing his head. "And I would appreciate it if you will not tell anyone about my secret. All will be revealed in true time."

The door closed with a final click, and the god vanished into thin air, leaving the demigod to finish his dinner. Oh well.

* * *

"_Sir, an unidentified number is trying to reach you._"

Tony sighed, hands still tinkering with his suit, adjusting its modifications and turning to some parts that needing fixing. If the caller and JARVIS meant unidentified number, it was probably S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury's voice sounded over the speakers. "Stark.

The genius made a noncommittal voice in his throat to show that he was listening, not looking up.

"I heard that your tower will be a tower for the Avengers."

"Of course you heard about it already." He hissed when one of the fused electrical wires sparked and made contact with his skin. "Nothing escapes S.H.I.E.L.D." He grinned sharply. "Except me, of course."

"Except you, of course," muttered Fury, voice sounding odd. Like he sounded tired. Bone-tired. Weary, for once.

"You know," said Tony, "I've already got Bruce going. Like, a sudden change of heart. He never considered the offer to stay in the tower, but just this morning I received a call from him, and he's packing his things, saying, and said, 'Hey, buddy, I've decided I'll move to the tower and shit.' And then we're okay."

"We've got a team meeting tomorrow," Fury informed him. "At the Helicarrier."

Now Tony caught the tone. "Yeah, Nicky, what happened? You're like you've been ran over by ten thousand trucks and sound like shit."

"Loki… agreed to give us information. In turn, he will be given… protection until the Asgardians decides his fate, however 'weak, puny and minuscule' we are, as he put it."

Tony straightened from his work, attention now completely focused on the Director. "Our Resident Evil God _actually_ agreed to give us information for his safety?"

"Yes," Fury's voice crackled from the speakers. "Just that I want you tomorrow, Stark. Eight a.m. sharp."

Then he withdrew, call ending with a soft beep.

"J?"

"_Yes, sir?_"

"Hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. files about Rock of Ages. There's a possibility that they had recorded what Loki said about the invasion." Turning to leave his work, he said, "Loki had left it off easily and…" He frowned and trailed off. In fact, now that he did think about it, he _did _leave it off easily. Like he wasn't even trying. Like… he intended to fail the invasion.

He'd seen what Thor can do as an Asgardian. And what Loki had shown was probably only half of the extent of what he was capable of doing. That blue-eyed, murdering psychopath …

"_Sir, if I may?_"

"Yes, J? 'Cause that's an awfully short time you got when you hacked in the S.H.E.I.L.D. files. Don't tell me you did just that. Oh, no, please tell me you did that, because it's totally cool."

"_You doubt me sir?_" said the AI, sounding amused. "_However, S.H.I.E.L.D. _ _has number one priority on tracking. Subject is called Percy Jackson, but he didn't seem to be in last week's list_."

"Percy Jackson, huh?" He scratched the growing rubble in his chin. He should've shaved this morning. No, scratch that, he should've shaved last Sunday. Anyways, what day is it?

"JARVIS? Day?" asked Tony absently.

"_Today is Wednesday, sir. May I inform you that Miss Potts ordered to lock down the lab if you didn't eat and sleep for three days in maximum, sir_."

He scowled at the ceiling. "And what makes you think that the order will be followed?" he asked archly.

"_You gave Level 4 access to Miss Potts, sir, as she is also your CEO in Stark Industries,_" the AI pointed out. "_And… I also have discovered one more thing._"

"What?" he asked, irritated.

"_Percy Jackson matches the identity of the teenager that helped you destroy the Doombots one week ago,_" the AI answered.

"Huh," said the inventor. "He's that one? Track him down. I still didn't get to talk to him after he disappeared."

"_Already doing that, sir_," JARVIS replied. "_And download complete for the files of Loki Laufeyson_."

"Open it," said Tony, and the blue holograms flickered into life from empty air.

The files contained very little, if you didn't count about the video footage of the Chitauri attack. He'd seen them all, alright. Watched them a few times. But what caught his attention was the profile's eye color and what it followed after.

Eye color: _ Was seen with blue eyes, but reverted to green once the invasion has finished._

"Sounds familiar…" he murmured. Blue eyes, like…

"_Barton, sir,_" the AI confirmed. "_The agent was also seen with blue eyes when he was being controlled by Mr. Laufeyson under the influence of the scepter._"

"Right," said the inventor triumphantly. "Also had the same thoughts. Great, J."

"_I learned only from the best, sir,_" answered JARVIS smugly.

"Open a new project on my private servers. Run it through the strongest security protocols. No one and nothing will know of this."

"_Understood, sir,_" answered JARVIS smoothly. "_What shall be the project's name?"_

Tony thought about it for a moment, thinking of a name that will be fitting to the project. Something deadly and dangerous, something secretive. He liked creating cool names for his projects. It will made them even more awesome.

"Project Night's Bane."

* * *

**Annnnnd… finished! One chapter down! As promised, here are the replies:**

**Monkey dragon: Thank you, and thank you too for being my first reviewer! And I'll promise, this will turn to be an amazing story. Just wait. ;)**

**risinhero14****: Thank you, and here it is!**

**GodofMischief: Thanks very much! But no, this will not be a Tony/Percy story. So sorry to disappoint you, but a plan has been set in motion. :( :)**

**L: Yeah, thanks. :)**

**aviendhaphiragon****: You do? Thank you! And thanks for answering my doubts. **

**jackie-chan1230****: Thanks, and stay tuned for more!**

**Guest: Thank you very much. :D**

**Fgbvdjjnvfyjjbvf : Thanks to you, who has no time to create a temporary name. :D**

**forever-a-fanchic**** : Thanks, and hope that you'd stay tuned.**

**TheInsaneM****: Here it is!**

**Faded Electric****: Here it is, and thanks!**

**So, what do you think of the new chapter? Review my dears!  
****Before I sign out, I ask for your advice, 'cause I **_**really **_**wanna do this:  
****Should I continue this, even if my mom disapproves and tries to stop me?**

_**~BloodDarkerThanCrimson out.**_


	3. 3: Conspiring Legacy

**Hey dear readers! I just got back from our camping last last Sunday, and apparently, I missed a lot. I had new friends which had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. Just sharing, you know. I got my new cellphone! Thank the gods above! I'll tell you, this writing is just amazing, and I'll never leave you guys hanging. To my wonderful reviewers, you'll find my responses at the end. Sorry if I was hesitating to update this, because there isn't as many as viewers there are on the second chapter as there are on the previous one. And my very long rant is over. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Avengers.**

* * *

**This is gospel for the fallen ones  
****Locked away in permanent slumber  
****Assembling their philosophies  
****From pieces of broken memories**

**Oh, this is the beat of my heart, this is the beat of my heart **_**[2x]  
**_**Their gnashing teeth and criminal tongues conspire against the odds  
****But they haven't seen the best of us yet  
****~This is Gospel, **_**Panic! At the Disco**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: Conspiring Legacy**

* * *

When Tony entered the conference room with a bottle of martini in one hand, Fury was already holding a folder, with Clint, Natasha, Thor and Steve already there. As usual, he was always the one who will be the last to attend the meeting.

"Glad you could join us, Stark," Fury said, one eye grim.

"Oh, don't mind me," Tony said with an easy grin. "So sweet of you to wait for me."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "If you could start, Director?"

"I'm gonna say this one time, so listen carefully." Fury paused. "We are going to have a new Avenger, and his name is Percy Jackson."

The conference room went entirely silent, and then it exploded into different reactions:

From Tony: "Him? An Avenger?"

From Clint: "Woah! An Avenger? Can't wait to meet him!"

From Natasha: She leaned back, eyes wide, and it told everything, coming from the Widow.

From Steve: "Do you _know _him, Director? You raised him as an Avenger right _now_?"

And last, but certainly not the least, from Thor: "_The _Percy Jackson? Hero of Olympus?"

This went not unnoticed by the genius, who rounded on the god. "What do you mean, _hero of Olympus_?"

Thor held up a placating hand, the other resting lightly on the hilt of Mjolnir. "He is the greatest hero of this age, who saved Olympus, the home if the Greek gods." He smiled, oblivious to the others' shocked and stunned expressions. " We aren't allowed to interfere, but we do know from the stories that Percy Jackson is one of the greatest heroes."

"One of?" echoed Clint, expression looking a little overwhelmed.

"And now you're going to recruit him as an Avenger," said Steve, who was more focused at the task at hand than the others. "_Why,_ exactly?"

Fury looked more grim than ever, expression impossibly darker. "There's an oncoming war, that came from an, ah, unknown source. We don't know any details, but it's going to be big. And we need everyone we could get." He set down the folder he'd been holding on the table and slid it to Natasha, who immediately began to read.

"Perseus 'Percy' Jackson. Age: Seventeen—"

"Woah, hold it right up there," interrupted Clint. "The guy's seventeen?" He leaned back in his seat, impressed. "Gotta give him credit for saving the goddamn Olympus in the age of fucking _seventeen_."

"He's a teenager, Fury," protested the soldier, who was less amused. "Surely you can't let him participate in a _war_."

"He saved the goddamn _Olympus, _Captain," Fury shot. "And he's chosen by a god. _Two_ gods, in fact. What do you expect less of him?"

"And you expect us to believe that," Natasha said, once forgetting to read.

"You're staring at one in the face," growled Fury, sweeping a hand at the thunder god. "And another one is a murdering maniac who almost destroyed the city."

Natasha sighed and continued, "Became an international criminal when he was twelve, when apparently he was not, only defending himself against a man; destroyed a national monument and jumped off St. Louis Arch while he was at it."

"Really?" said Tony, thinking back one week ago and whistled. "He _is_ my hero."

The assassin rolled her eyes. "Kicked off by a couple of schools—"

Clint crowed. "Sweet! It's our guy, Tin Man!" He and Tony exchanged high fives, grinning, looking like Christmas had come early.

"After that, there's nothing here... except it states here that he was lost for almost ten months."

"Okay," said Fury, capturing everyone's attention. "I want you in Stark's tower in three days. All of you," he added when the god looked like he was about to protest. Poor Jane.

"I've got Bruce covered," said the billionaire, grinning. "He's coming over in two days. And all of you have your own specific floor. And no, Katniss, you can't sleep in the vents."

"Aww!"

"Who's going to fetch the kid?" asked Steve, a little frown on his face. Obviously, he wasn't still satisfied with the idea of a teen fighting a war, but what could he do with the rest of his team against him?

Fury turned to Tony, a glitter in his eye, and the genius knew exactly the answer to Cap's question. "Since you're so enthusiastic about the kid, why don't you fetch Jackson tomorrow?"

* * *

Somewhere in the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound, a god released a shout of frustration as he once again failed to break free of the manacles.

He flinched as he reached for the once reassuring core of his magic inside him. But now it lashed out, wild and confused and _hurt _(_just like him, _a treacherous voice whispered inside his mind) and the feeling spread throughout in his body (_magic is all I had, I am magic, magic is me._) The magical runes in the shackles burned ( _bad, evil magic_) and seared his already-red wrists. He tried to struggle free, even when he knew that it would prove fruitless, but strength is all he had, and even that is slowly taken away from him too.

He remembered his judgement day all too clearly, of how he was bound, even with his silvertongue not allowed to be used. His not-so brother, standing over him where he was forcefully knelt by some pathetic mortals, with eyes narrowed with ever so slightly with concern hidden behind the heavy disappointed frown as he delivered the crushing him down that almost buried him six feet under.

_" Loki Laufeyson. By the ancient standards, we have decided that you have the chance to be redeemed, and we send you back to those whom you served, those mindless beasts, the Chitauri, and will remain there until they decreed enough."_

He could almost imagine the fight that happened between father and son when they decided over the course of action. The All-Father was not this merciful, and with Thor's subdued expression was anything to go by, it was clear that the thunder god gave all that he had to lighten the sentence.

But for the trickster, it wasn't enough. Oh, if they only knew. If they only knew that it wasn't the Chitauri he served. If they only knew what _he _will do to him.

Loki started to scream, long and hoarse. The scream reverberated throughout the dull empty chamber, but no one answered. No one heard him.

He will be taken back to the dead planet of the planet of Chitauri.

Ninety- six weeks. For Midgardian time measure.

It was his ninety-sixth week, and they think of him as too weak. Damaged. They grew overconfident, because it was now months since he tried to attack them. (But maybe they're right.)

At first, they were met by resistance, as expected from the god. Because as long as the god had his strength, he will try to escape this hellhole as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

But they were many, and the Other is ever watchful. They beat him, trashed him around, played with him and done so many things unforgivable that he lost count. Strength failed him, as his magic failed him.

But he wasn't called Silvertongue for nothing. He provoked them, taunted them, called names, and retorted to every phrase turned against him. When they got annoyed and angry, they burned his tongue with a white-hot rod, and after that, he ceased talking.

But it healed, no matter how slow the process will be. They will all heal, over time, and it's the only thing that was keeping him alive. That, and his wits. The magical shackles still bound his magic inside, frustratingly out of reach. It kept slipping away from his grasp like a frightened animal. But it was still there, so there's still hope. Still clinging into that miniscule hope. Even when he's barely hanging.

At his fortieth week, they started to get bored on him, judging from their expressions. But they did not stop abusing him. Not ever.

At his sixty-sixth week, his voice abandoned him.

At his seventieth, the Other paid him a visit, and threw taunts at him. How he failed. How he was beaten by the so-called Avengers, by those pathetic excuse of mortals and his idiot of a brother.

How fallen Loki had gone.

At his eighty-sixth, he didn't miss the laughs of his torturers, and their mocks that their little god had started to break.

It was his ninety-sixth now, and the wasteland of the Chitauri had burned itself into his mind forevermore. Memories of the Golden Realm, of Asgard, blurred together. He only remembered his not-father's disapproval, of Prince Thor, who would be crowned right now, shining and golden and loved by more than one Realm, of how he shunned away his ever-loving mother, and of Bifrost, and falling, falling, falling. Of how the Mad Titan found him.

How fallen Loki had gone, and how hard he fell.

But he remembered, oh how he remembered, of blue skies and gray smoke, of buildings and skyscrapers, of people living through destruction. Of Midgard's controlled chaos.

(He always loved chaos.)

And a blur of red and gold, who offered a drink to him as calmly as you please, an enemy who wanted to rave his city to the ground. Of his technology. Of his willing sacrifice, directing the missile up, and up, and up into the Void (_of nothingness and nothingness._)

Straight into the heart of the enemy.

And how he fell.

But he was caught, and he was saved by the monster.

And he remembered a man of unwavering loyalty. A soldier and his patriotic love for his country. Of a woman's sharp mind and wits. Of a man containing a monster inside.

A ragtag team of Midgard's superheroes.

And at his ninety-sixth week, the Other became arrogant, for he hung his head too low. He became overconfident, and made his biggest mistake that cannot be ever undone. The biggest mistake of the millennium.

They freed him of his magical bindings.

* * *

This may be a worse day than any other day in his life, because S.H.I.E.L.D. treated him like a freaking school service bus, and assigned him to pick up Percy Jackson.

He don't know how to handle teenagers, much less superhero teenagers. Little kids, maybe, who adored Iron Man. But certainly not emotional, superhero teenagers who were running wild on hormones and other kinds of things.

But he was curious of this Jackson kid. The boy who jumped off a building. So he ordered Happy to take him to the address given to him by S.H.I.E.L.D. first thing tomorrow morning.

When he knocked, he held his breath in anticipation, waiting for the door to open. He winced as something crashed inside, a muffled yelp, and a yelled, "Coming!"

He was met with a shock if green eyes and a messy hair like a bird's nest. And a half-eaten pizza.

"I was eating," protested Percy while he attempted to tame his wild hair. He frowned and stopped when it seemed to be not working. "Do you guys have a habit of showing up while I was eating?" He peered at him, and chewed his pizza. "So, you one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. guys?"

Tony smiled at him charmingly. "Nope." He removed his sunglasses, which was just a part of his disguise. "Nice to meet you again, kid. I must say, I'm a big fan of yours when you jumped off St. Louis Arch. A pity that we haven't introduced ourselves properly the last time we met."

"Oh. They told you that?" Percy seemed struck speechless for a moment, then tried composed himself. "Wait. You're Tony Stark? _The _Tony Stark?" He ogled at him, then stepped back, eyes still wide. "Come in, but I can't promise you that your stay will be comfortable. I'll, uh, take a quick shower. Help yourself."

"Anywhere to sit will be nice," he said, stepping over the threshold. Percy quickly finished the pizza, picking up the box and throwing it a few feet away from him without even looking. His aim was perfect; and now that Tony looked there were other pizza boxes at the bin.

The inventor looked around at the apartment, his curiosity getting the better of him. Percy stepped into the shower, closing the door with a click. The TV was still on, news flashing across the screen. The curtains were closed, minimum sunlight peeking through.

Tony wandered over the kitchen. The faucet was dripping, and when he tried to close it, he only made it worse, so he left it at that, and hastily drew his hands away. Two of the glasses in the rack were missing. And when he opened the fridge, all he saw were bottles of water and the occasional Coke. Seriously, this kid's life was a mess.

"Yeah, I know," said Percy's voice behind him, as if reading the genius's thoughts. "But my mom and dad's having their honeymoon at Maldives, and they deserve some time together. I wasn't gonna stop them." He was drying his hair in a towel, making it messier than it had been a while ago. "But I can do well with my own. Mom gave me enough to last a few weeks."

"With pizza and Coke?" The billionaire shut the fridge and glanced behind him to see Percy chuckle.

"Well, it's been a week, and I'm still alive."

"So, ready to go?"

The teen shrugged, smiling lopsidedly. "I'll just get my bag. You could go right ahead."

"How 'bout your parents? Won't they be worried that you'll be gone to join some world-saving team of heroes?"

Percy glanced at the billionaire and stopped tapping his foot, broken from his musings. If Annabeth was here right now, he thought, face contorting for a moment,, she and Tony will have a very confusing conversation about building and architecture and stuff. If—

He shook himself mentally. "Nah. At least I'll be coming back to welcome them at the airport, and maybe throw a small party. Then I'll explain it after. I'm sure they'll understand." _Mom would freak out, then Paul would be probably ecstatic, then he'll be serious when Mom will glare at him. _He smiled at the thought.

Tony stared at him, eyes wondering and curious and something a little bit unreadable. "Who are you? You jumped off a building twice, once with a horse, fought off Doombots with freakish awesomeness, Thor said you are the greatest hero and got to save Olympus, which has to be a myth after all, and now S.H.I.E.L.D. wants you to be an Avenger to the upcoming war." He gestured wildly with his hands, then dropped them. "What are you, really?"

Percy sighed, laying his head back into the seat. "I'm not getting away from this, right?" When he got a raised eyebrow for an answer, he chuckled. "Okay, okay. Fine, then." He paused dramatically, and straightened his spine, fighting off a grin. "I'm a god."

"_What?_" Tony yelped.

At his reaction and gobsmacked face, and at the way the car suddenly swerved the wheel, the demigod laughed. "Just kidding. You know about the Norse gods, right?"

"_Yes_," said Tony warily, drawing out the word.

"Well," said Percy slowly, "do you know about the Greek gods?"

"Yeah, I think," the genius said, face scrunched up as he tried to remember. "There's Hercules, Zeus, and Hades…"

The green-eyed teen glanced at the sky outside. " No, not Hercules. He's not a god. Well, technically, he is, but he was made a god..." he trailed off, noticing the man's confounded appearance. "Right. Sorry. Story for later on. The thing is, I'm a demigod." At his blank expression, he said, "Half-mortal, half-god."

There was a few moments of stunned silence, until Tony said, "What?"

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, I know. My mom is mortal, say, human, and my dad is Poseidon, the god of the seas."

"Huh," said Tony, brow furrowing. "That explains two things. One," he put out a finger, "the whole thing of your father being 'lost at the sea—'"

"How did you know about that?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has your files, so I checked them."

"Figures. They were all the same: stalkers."

"And two," continued Tony, "the whole water thing that happened a week ago."

_A week ago. _Percy's chest constricted, and he clenched his fists, looking away. His breathing turned harsh. "Don't," he said in a low voice.

Tony jumped at the tone his voice. "Why? What happened—"

He cut him off with a smoldering glare. He can't think of her, not now, not now that he's starting to forget, he'd almost forgot—

But he never did. He remembered her in every hour, every minute, every _second_ of his life ever since _last week. _He never did, did he? He can't stop thinking about her, that when he even tried, he can't, he just can't.

And it hurts so _goddamn much_ that it hurts just to breathe, and he squeezed his eyes shut, hearing her labored breaths, and he can see her, dying, dying in his arms_, dying—_and he can't breathe, _gods,_ he can't _breathe—_

"—ppy! Stop the car! Kid, goddammit, calm down!"

There's someone shaking him, and the grip on his shoulder that he didn't even know was there tightened, and he realized his cheeks were wet.

"Listen to me. Focus on my voice, Percy. You need to breathe with me, okay? Slowly. Breathe in."

_Vwoop._

"Breathe out."

_Woosh._

"Breathe in."

_Vwoop._

"Breathe out."

_Woosh._

"Happy, would you drive, please? Faster this time."

They lurched forward, the world whizzing by. Then someone shifted, and the grip on his shoulder loosened. Breathing seemed a little bit easier now, and before he could react, something crinkled when a thing was shoved in his loosely clenched fists.

"Here, drink this."

He opened his eyes to find a plastic bottle in his hands. He quickly took it and gulped down the water, soothing his throat and somehow washing away the last of his tears, feeling a bit better when he finished.

He put his head down in his hands, gripping his hair tight, feeling a furious blush creep in his cheeks. He had a panic attack before, but he never cried in front of other people. He started when someone laid a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, he met the concerned gaze of Tony. He felt his cheeks burned again, but he wasn't mocking him.

"Sorry. I'm not going to ask again," he said slowly. Percy could see it in his brown eyes too, reflected: the despairing look, and the understanding. "I knew what you're going through." _It's loss. _Hesitantly, he said, "You could talk to me, if you want, okay?"

Percy nodded smiling. It was a weak one, but it was genuine. "Thanks. I'll remember that."

And then Tony ruffled his hair like he was a little kid, making Percy wrinkle his nose. He was back to his normal self, grinning. "Now I've got to show you your own floor in the tower," he said, as the tower came into view.

* * *

Lying down in his new, stiff bed in a new room at a new floor that will be only his, the demigod couldn't sleep. He wasn't even sure he wanted to, with what the nightmares could do to him again, waiting.

So, after a few minutes of shifting and tossing and turning around, he threw off the thick covers and swung his feet to the side of the bed, because he couldn't take it anymore. The moment his bare feet hit the cold floor, a voice said from the ceiling, "_How may I help you, Mr. Jackson?_"

Percy jumped, before sending an exasperated look at the ceiling. He almost forgot about Tony's AI, his invisible butler, JARVIS. It had taken all of his willpower to not uncap his pen when Tony first introduced him to the AI. He expected someone to come around the corner and bow politely, when a disembodied floated up to him. "_Hello, Mr. Jackson."_

Well, after fighting monsters and some things that are better left unsaid, he could not just stand there and wait for something to happen after hearing a disembodied voice say hello to him. At the way the inventor laughed, he guessed his face looked priceless.

"Okay," he said. "Could you direct me to the kitchen?"

He followed the voice of the AI, and he soon came to his destination. However, he was not alone. Tony was there, looking like he just having finished brewing his coffee, the bitter taste filling the air.

"Couldn't sleep?" asked the genius lightly.

The demigod nodded almost imperceptibly. "Yeah. Just need time to adjust." He took a glass and filled it with water. "You?"

Something flickered in the genius eyes, there and gone so fast that Percy thought he imagined it. Then he grinned, back to his old self. "Head's full of ideas. And, well, we have a new Avenger." He took a sip from his cup. "We'll fetch Bruce tomorrow at the airport, and the others will come to the tower in two days time."

Percy's heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "Wonder if they'll like me?"

Tony laughed dismissively at his worry. "Sure they would! Well, it's not so easy with Nat, but once you got to know her, she'll be nice to you." He shrugged a shoulder. "But she'll kick your ass out if you manage to irritate. Clint already likes you. And I think Thor worships you."

The green-eyed teen blinked. "A Norse god _worships_ me?"

"Well," Tony said, "not worship _worship_, but he knew about your heroic stories." He scrutinized the demigod with a critical eye. "If you're not planning anything, you could join me in the lab."

Percy grinned, instantly gratified. "Sure."

* * *

**And there ya go! Say, any of you Supernatural fans out there? I've got another fic running, and it's entitled **_**Deadly.**_** So, these three fics, I've got, like, every week to update, so you're gonna wait two weeks after this.**

_**Awwwww.**_

**And, man, two weeks will be like, when our school starts. Man, this will be hard. So, keep the reviews coming *wink wink* 'cause I will continue to answer your questions and to thank those who appreciates this fic.**

**Aviendhaphiragon****: Yep, you're right. 'Cause, you know, that it's a - - - - - - -. Blue cookies for you! Thanks for reading!**

**ShadowPhoenix22****: Thank you! Agent Coulson's secret? Nah, he's not. Remember? The Avengers thought he was dead. And they still didn't know that he was alive.**

**risinhero14****: Ohhhhhhh, I don't know. But, nah. Great theory, though.**

**forever-a-fanchic****: Thanks! This is the update! Hugs!**

**LittleManY2K: Salamat! (That means thank you in our language.) Really, and I **_**know**_** that my answer will always be yes. Thank you and thank you very much!**

**Monkey dragon: Hey, Monkey Dragon! I know you enough! Man, thank you for the encouragement and your reviews.**

**Guest: Hey, really, your words struck me most, and I was near tears when I read your review. Thank you for believing in me, for making me believe in myself, even in this goddamn minute my mom was breathing down in my neck.**

**Guest: DID I SAY THAT I WILL DISCONTINUE THIS? NO! Hahahaha. Stay tuned, man.**

**Team Leo: Heya, Team Leo! I don't know, man. I'm still unsure. I don't know where this story goes, but, I'm still making this up as I go. And for your guess… well… aren't you a smart one.**

**TheInsaneM****: Yeah? Thank you! And yes, I will continue them!**

**Guest User: Yeah, ya think? Stick around and see how awesome this gets, not that I'm… you know… oh well.**

**Thank you for all who followed and favorited this!**

_**~BloodDarkerThanCrimson out.**_


	4. Chapter 4: Bruce Banner

**Hi. *giggles nervously* I'm back. For... *eyes looks away guiltily* three months? *ducks behind a table to hide* Ohpleasedon'tbeangrywithme. I'm so sorry! I just... there's school problems, then family problems, then fandom problems, and personal problems... I just... I'm very sorry. And here's the update for ya.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Avengers.**

_**I'm feeling fine women and wine**_

_**Fooling myself as I keep my heart blind**_

_**Hoping memories can die**_

_**It's taking some time to find peace of mind**_

_**But when I don't dream I do alright**_

_**So I'll stay awake tonight**_

~Stay Awake, _Angus Danu_

**Chapter 4: Bruce Banner**

"I barely understood anything you've said," said Percy, spinning around on the office chair boredly. "Are you speaking English?"

The demigod had been forbidden to touch anything again on the lab without Tony's permission. The first he did, well, nothing happened. But the second time he did touch something, a corner of Tony's lab blew up. Percy had emerged from the small explosion looking sheepish and unruffled.

Since then, he'd been threatened by Tony if he ever touched anything without the genius's permission, he'll be blast by Dummy's fire extinguisher that seemed to always show up with every explosion on the lab. The demigod had been lucky that Dummy wasn't there a while ago.

The genius brought down the diagram with a swipe of his hand, sighing. "That's because you're not made of the smarter stuff."

"I'm not _that_ dumb!"

Tony turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you kicked out by every school you were enrolled?"

Percy sighed exasperatedly, slumping on the office chair. He seemed not to be surprised that he had that tidbit of information. The chair creaked sadly beneath him. "Try having dyslexia. And ADHD at the same time. Combine the two. What'd you get?"

Tony winced in sympathy. "Ouch." Then he grinned. "I'm too smart for school, anyway."

The demigod snorted, spinning again on the chair. "'Course you are."

Tony pulled up the latest calculations on the information he'd snuck from SHIELD's files on Loki's staff. The staff was safely hidden away by SHIELD, but he figured he will do the nicking for another day. "So, Hero of Olympus, is it true that you saved it? The home of the gods? At the age of _seventeen_?"

The demigod blinked at the sudden questions. "Well, seventeen, no." Percy's green eyes—not Loki's poisonous green eyes, he idly thought, his own brown eyes flicking to his calculations and observations—glinted with mischief and something else. "Sixteen, yep. With the help of forty demigods, of course. Can't do it alone."

Tony whistled lowly. "Of course," he repeated slowly. "How, exactly?"

Percy stopped spinning the chair, expression blanking out. "There's this war—"

Tony's heart halted. "War?" he choked out. He could feel the darkness and the frigid cold biting him even with his suit on—he shuddered. "But you were sixteen!"

It was surprising that a lot of people got it worse.

Percy spread his hands. "What can we do? At the time, gods practically can't interfere with their children's lives." The thunder rolled outside. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Anyway, we're demigods. At twelve, they'll give you a knife and they'll say, 'Honey, you'll need this to protect yourself against the monsters that will try to kill and eat you. Stab that thing over there." He shrugged, eyes darkening. "Most demigods don't ever reach the age of seventeen or twenty."

Tony got a feeling that the last statement wasn't finished. He wisely didn't comment on it. The air hung heavier now, and the genius was starting to regret that he ever brought the subject up, if not for the sake of curiosity.

Spinning again on the office chair, albeit slightly slower this time, Percy asked, "How's Pepper?"

Tony's brow furrowed. "What about her?"

The demigod frowned, sea green eyes meeting brown eyes across the translucent blue diagrams. "Hadn't she told you?"

Tony felt his hackles rise. "Told me _what_?" he asked, frustrated. If anything happened to her...

Percy sighed. "She almost got kidnapped. Luckily, I was just walking home late, thanks for a school project. I heard her scream. The two had a knife, and I just, well..." He shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips. "She's okay now."

The genius felt his shoulders sagging as he relaxed one more. "Yeah, she's that all right. She's a tough nut to crack."

Percy smiled, spinning in his chair. "That she is." When he got bored again, he idly said, "Did you know that I blew up Mt. St. Helens by accident?"

Tony choked on the coffee he'd been drinking.

The demigod squinted and bounced on the balls of his feet, trying to see between the people bustling around.

The airport wasn't fully crowded, and there was a select few who looked like vacationists. Some were New Yorkers, meeting friends and families, and Percy had yet to see Bruce.

"Is he here yet?" asked the demigod, fidgeting.

The billionaire shook his head. "Nah. I think we're early."

Percy shot a glare at him, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. "You know I _hated_ waiting."

Tony had known. The kid had extreme ADHD that he had shown last night that kept them both awake by barraging him with questions about this and that, and had traded stories of his own out of sheer boredom. Soon, he finally persuaded Tony to touch something in the lab ("Just touch it, I promise! I _swear_ I won't press any buttons. Or anything else.") and managed to survive the night with wide eyes and 'oohs' and 'ahhs' every time Tony introduced something to him, and a thrown 'If you didn't know your father, he could be Hephaestus' comment.

Tony perked up, pointing. "There he is!"

The demigod followed the finger and saw the man, who was trying to make himself invisible by hunching forward. Tony started forward, lifting sunglasses for disguise (it worked like a miracle) and the demigod followed behind. When the scientist saw them, he smiled at Tony but sent a confused look at the demigod.

"Brucie!" said Tony, delightedly childlike, spreading his arms like hoping for a hug.

Bruce dipped his head, smiling. "Thanks for coming." Sending another look at Percy, he said, "Who's the kid? Surely you didn't kidnap someone to test your experiments on him?"

Tony placed a hand on his chest and shook his head in mock-hurt. "You wound me, Science Bro. Nah, I would never. Though I would love to —"

"Hey!"

"—I would like to have a permission from Perce first."

Percy arched an eyebrow. "Oh, it's _Perce_ now, isn't it?"

Tony leaned towards Bruce conspiratorially and whispered, "Fury recruited him as an Avenger."

The scientist's eyes widened. "_What_?" he whisper-yelled, like the information was confidential (which it was) but he'd been too shocked to muffle it. "But he's only a kid!"

The genius began to lead them to his car with Happy waiting inside. Thankfully, the car he picked wasn't that flashy, adding to his disguise, though it caused much grumbles from Tony. "And apparently a badass one too."

Percy crossed his arms. "I may be a 'kid,' " he said, qoutes prominent, "but wait till you see what I'm capable of. Besides, looks could be very deceiving." He shot a look at the new companion beside him.

He'd been debriefed by Tony of what Bruce was in more complicated and science-y terms, but finally resorted to telling him that Bruce turns to a the Hulk when angered.

Tony grunted. "His name is Perseus Jackson, and he's a demi—_Ow_!"

Percy removed his foot from the billionaire's own, smiled and reached out a hand to Bruce. "You can call me Percy."

"That's my foot!"

The scientist shook his hand, looking torn between being confused and laughing at the two. "Bruce. Bruce Banner."

Percy grinned, green eyes twinkling. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Do you know how much this shoes cost?" Tony whined.

The demigod rolled his eyes at Tony. "I'm sure you have enough money to buy another one."

"Let's just get into the car," said Bruce, sighing, though a small smile curved his lips.

After Bruce had settled somewhat into his new floor, Tony had wasted no time persuading the scientist to his lab. Both of them had been holed up in Tony's lab, and haven't got out ever since.

Percy couldn't bring himself to join them—he was sure he wouldn't be able to understand a fifth of what they would be saying. So he wandered about the tower. Then he met Dummy.

And the demigod decided to eat, since he was getting hungry, and figured that the two weren't going down to join him anytime soon. It was a large possibility for the both of them—especially Tony—to forget that their stomachs needed food too.

When he raided the refrigerator, there wasn't anything worth eating that he could find, so he wrinkled his nose and abandoned the search.

Then he checked the cupboards. There were a lot of ingredients and whatnot in them.

He never really tried cooking before—his Mom was always the one cooking for him. (And her too, he thought with a sharp pang in his chest) But from what he'd seen, omelettes looked like the easiest he could copy.

He suddenly had an idea. "Hey Dummy," he called the robot, which had been following him since they met. "How would you like to feel like helping me in the kitchen?"

The robot's arm/camera thingy lifted up, and Dummy nodded enthusiastically.

Percy grinned. "Great!"

He immensely regretted the idea soon after.

"Dummy, _no_! It's a fork, not a spatula!"

Dummy was a terrible cook.

_"Sir, it looked like one of your omelettes is burned. Again."_

And he was, too.

If the grey smoke was any indication whatsoever.

Percy threw up his hands, one of which was sticky because he cracked an egg the wrong way. "_Fine_, I quit!"

He began cleaning the mess, wishing he had his buddy Jason's powers because the smoke present in the kitchen didn't have any suggestion to thin out very soon.

Right. He will never _ever_ going to try to cook again.

Percy hesitated at the sink. Last time he got near water, the circumstances hadn't been very unpleasant, but bearable enough.

What happened last week made him fear for his element even more.

He shook his hand, trying to dispel the sticky mess. Oh, for _Hades'_ sake… He turned on the tap water.

And was promptly blasted off by the thin jet of water that burst from the tap.

"What happened, kid? We were just informed by J that something happened down here, and it's a first, we did not do anything —Woah!"

Amazing how one could hear Tony's chatter even a few feet away.

Percy stared at the two of them with a vague apologetic expression. "Sorry I wrecked your kitchen."

"Jesus Christ, kid," said Tony, staring at the kitchen with horror. "What did you do?"

Percy blew a wet strand of his hair out of his face and frowned. His hair was getting shaggy, and he hadn't anytime to command that he wouldn't be able to get wet. "I'm hungry."

"And you decided to make a lunch," finished Bruce. "Which was a stupid idea, since you _can't_."

Percy commanded carefully to make himself dry, and sighed in relief when he felt the coldness vanish. Bruce jumped an inch in the air, but Tony only grinned.

"That's cool," he said, eyes glinting excitedly, but then he sighed, "but you should have said to JARVIS to order takeaway. And saved us this mess."

"Yeah, well, sorry again," said Percy sheepishly, raking his hand through his now-dry hair. Bruce continued to stare.

The genius grimaced. "Could you, like, use water to clean this?" he asked, sweeping his hand, wriggling his fingers like a magician.

Percy was surprised that Tony was able to take it by stride. "Sorry, but uh, no dice."

Bruce, finally breaking from his trance, went over to close the tap, which was dripping and the stove, which still had a pan with the burnt omelette. "Wow. Just... wow."

The green-eyed teenager smiled wryly. "I'm a demigod. Half-god, half-human. And my father is Poseidon, god of the seas."

The scientist withdrew, his eyes widening. He shook his head. "You're a _what_ now? And I thought that the Asgardians are the only existing gods."

Tony nodded, grinning. "Yep. Just when you thought things are crazy enough, they would even make you crazier. But still, he haven't still performed any water trick for me, Aquaman. The one earlier doesn't count."

Percy winced at the nickname. Leo was bad enough giving them, but now he had Tony... The demigod frowned. "That's the problem. After the, uh—" he hesitated, "—incident last week, I haven't got to use it properly." He winced again, feeling terrible and useless.

"What—?" Bruce started to say, but Tony elbowed him to shut up with a stern look, which was unlike Tony at all that Percy blinked.

The genius turned to him, brown eyes softening fractionally. "I can wait," he said cheerfully.

The demigod stood up, smiling gratefully at Tony. "So, how do I clean this?"

"Leave it to Dummy," he said dismissively, causing the said robot to lower his arm rather dejectedly. "He'll clean it up."

While they were eating, Bruce couldn't quite contain the question he'd been intending to ask since the kitchen incident.

"How long you'd known you were a demigod?" he blurted out.

Percy started, pausing halfway to eat his pizza. "I was only twelve that time," he began, and Tony and Bruce shared a look. The demigod seemed not to notice. "It all started in an educational field trip, thanks to Yancy Academy. Things started to grow crazy since then."

With that introduction, Percy started to weave a story with words full of Furies, his mom, his best friend who was a satyr...

Bruce stared at the demigod, who was sprawled across the couch, fast asleep. "Wow," he said for the nth time that day. "That was some bizarre story."

After they had clean-up; namely, putting the pizza boxes away (there had been half of the vegetarian pizza that Bruce left. The two boxes of pizza supreme had been devoured by the two), they had been back to find their storyteller demigod asleep.

Maybe Bruce will be able to bribe them with real food next time.

Tony shook his head, just as amazed as Bruce. "Yeeesh. Imagine that."

Bruce looked at the genius and met his eyes seriously. "There's something wrong with his story."

Tony hummed in agreement, eyes narrowing. "With the Annie-girl."

Bruce rolled his eyes. Trust Stark to remember something as simple as a name. "Annabeth," he corrected.

"Yeah, that." The genius frowned, brown eyes assessing. "Like she, I don't know, left him behind?" He frowned harder, his eyebrows slanting downwards; an expression he usually wore when he's so focused on one thing. "Gone?"

The scientist shot him a look, and Tony held up his hands to placate him. "May seem a little bit harsh, but it may be the truth. Besides," he said, "demigods don't last long, he said earlier."

"Yeah," murmured the scientist. "Hey, how come he's asleep at a time like this?"

The genius let out a long breath. "He didn't sleep last night. At all. Said he couldn't sleep, so I kept him awake in the lab."

"You two? Why?" asked Bruce, concern lacing his words even if he only just met the green-eyed teenager this morning. Amazing how Percy could get the people around him to like him in less than a day.

Tony looked at the demigod with something close to sympathy and understanding. "Nightmares. I should know, I have a fair share of them."

Bruce stared at Tony, but he wasn't looking at him. Now he knew what looked familiar with the teen: it's the battle-weary stare, the same dark, haunted look in his eyes behind the cheerful mask that he didn't hide very well, because the pain that he was feeling may as well as be too fresh for him to bear.

And he'd seen it from the genius, too, even if Tony had hid it pretty well.

Glancing back at the teen, he sighed. "And to have them at this early age… "

Tony started to rise. "That's just a story for when he's only twelve years old." He gave the sleeping Percy a sorrowful look over his shoulder. "What do you expect from him now that he's seventeen?"

The scientist sighed, pushing up his glasses at the bridge of his nose. Babysitting just got a lot harder for Bruce.

**Awww, Bruce is sweet! I dunno, but this chapter ended up being mushy and angst-y or whatever. On my point of view. Once again, I apologize this for being late.**

**Aviendhaphiragon****: And there will be more of Loki's POV!**

**FireSenshi2****: Awww. Yep. But I have more plans for him.**

**Monkey dragon: Well, not as soon as I planned… *cringes***

**Someone: Welllll, here ya go!**

**UpDownAndAllAround****: Thanks! Maybe you could help me by pointing out some?**

**TheInsaneM****: Thank you so much!**

**BoneMeal: Well, maybe because for me, Percy had changed. **

**Guest: Thank you!**

**ANGEL FALLEN FROM HEAVEN****: Thank you, and I will keep writing! (Hey, you're an SPN fan, maybe you could check out my other story?)**

**L: Thanks Elena for the continued support! And yes, I am considering becoming an author someday. **

**TryMe626****: This is the new chapter! Thanks for the review!**

**Arthena818: Thank you, but I apologize again for this being so late.**

**Scarlet Nightshadow****: Thank you, and yep, that was really necessary. :D**

**Anna: Hahaha, thanks for the advice and review. :)**

**Sameen Hadiya****: Thank you so much! uwu**

**angierocks****: Yeah, thanks for being so perceptive about the story! ^_^**

**nicki1253****: I haven't planned yet, so now that you mentioned it, I think meeting her would be nice.**

**~BloodDarkerThanCrimson out.**


End file.
